Model Woman: Eileen Ford and the Business of Beauty

Robert Lacey's biography examines Eileen Ford, the entrepreneur who transformed the modeling business and helped create the celebrity supermodel. Working alongside her husband Jerry, Ford built the twentieth century's most successful modeling agency, representing major fashion figures including Suzy Parker, Carmen Dell'Orefice, Lauren Hutton, Rene Russo, Christie Brinkley, Jerry Hall, Christy Turlington, and Naomi Campbell. Ford's ambition elevated modeling into a glamorous, highly lucrative profession, turning her roster of models into millionaire superstars. Known for being outspoken and controversial, she maintained strict standards and was willing to clash with competitors and personalities in the industry. Beyond her forceful personality, Ford was a shrewd businesswoman with strong talent recognition and genuine commitment to her clients' success. Lacey draws on over four years of interviews with Ford, her associates, rivals, and intimates, along with exclusive access to agency documents and memorabilia, to chronicle Ford's career and the empire she built—a story centered on beauty, ambition, business, and popular culture.